Orange Bowl Tickets Are For More Than Just A Football Game by Jay Nault

Orange Bowl Tickets Are For More Than Just A Football Game
by: Jay Nault

Orange Bowl tickets offer football fans and travelers several options. Not only is the Orange Bowl one of the premier college bowl games every January, but the game itself is located in one of the most exotic travel destinations in the United States - Miami and South Florida. Fans and families alike have worked their vacation and/or travel plans around this game, and a look at its history and other attractions will explain why the Orange Bowl is always worth the effort to see.

Game History

The first Orange Bowl was played in 1935, when Bucknell defeated Miami 26-0. For 33 years, the Orange Bowl was basically an “at-large” bowl game, in that the bowl committee chose the best two teams it could attract. However, the Orange Bowl started its history of tie-ins in 1968 when it began to host the champion of the former Big 8 Conference every season.

This tie-in remained in place until the late-1990’s, when two things happened that change the landscape of the participants. The first was the formation of the Big 12 Conference, as the Big 8 basically added four teams from Texas after the now-defunct Southwestern Conference folded. This may or may not have had a direct effect on the teams invited, but another event in 1998 led to a shift in the game’s participants.

In 1998, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was formed, and this changed the alignment for all of the “major” bowl games - the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl and ultimately the Rose Bowl. A system was put in place to manufacture an on-field championship game between the two top-ranked teams every season, and each of the four new “BCS Bowls” agreed to host the new national championship game on a rotating basis. Therefore, every four years, Orange Bowl tickets give fans the chance to watch the national championship decided on the field. As of now, when the Orange Bowl is not hosting the “big” game, they will host the ACC champion after that conference’s recent additions.

Overall Event

The Orange Bowl is much more than a football game. In fact, the game itself is a culmination of a week-long celebration in Miami. There are parades, parties, receptions, and even a high-profile college basketball tournament called the Orange Bowl Classic. This year’s tournament will feature national champion Florida, and the games are played in town.

Not to mention, there is an event even within the game itself that’s as famous as the football battles that take place - the Orange Bowl halftime show is perhaps the most famous halftime performance in all of sports, and every year presents a new and intriguing theme with stars of music, sports and film making appearances. There are many attendees who are at the game specifically for the halftime show.

Overall, the Orange Bowl is a legendary event. The games are always battles between two highly-ranked teams, and several national championships have been decided in Miami. However, Orange Bowl tickets also give fans the chance to see much more than college football under the Florida sun in January.